Crafting a story around data may seem like an unnecessary, time consuming effort. The insights may seem sufficient to stand on their own but this is a flawed point of view. Our decisions are not based solely on logic. When you tell a story with data, you create a shared human experience. We tend to believe that numbers alone drives our decision making. Now more than ever a company’s survival will require disruptive change and that will call for inspiring employees and consumers to act in unfamiliar and untraditional ways. …

Addressing Racial Inequity Using Data

When I started writing this call to action at the beginning of 2020, I had no idea I would experience two life changing events. In fact, I don’t think that anyone thought that we would be navigating a global pandemic as well as long overdue talks on racism in America. While Covid-19 has us searching for a new normal, George Floyd’s murder has set off a resounding “We’ve had enough” across America. From policing, home ownership to healthcare and beyond, America has to face systematic racism that has disenfranchised Black people for centuries. Fortunately there are many people standing alongside…

Ben Jones is the Founder and CEO of Data Literacy, LLC. He’s currently on a mission to help people speak the language of data. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to him about data literacy several times since I’ve started my own mission. Ben Jones’ book Avoiding Data Pitfalls has been the guide we never realized how much we needed. Ben takes us through seven pitfalls when analyzing data and provides advice on how to navigate through them. Looking back at my own career, I recognize myself in the mistakes outlined. …

Vince Dixon is a self proclaimed “Story Craftsmen” who “tells real stories using reporting, code, data and visuals.” He’s currently a data visualization reporter at Eater and works with a team of storytellers to visualize data about food and the restaurant industry. As a digital media journalist he sits at the intersection of print and digital media sharing stories, ideas and information with mass audiences.

I had a chance to catch up with him and discuss his journalism career, a day in the life of NYC bike deliverers and his thoughts on what the restaurant scene will look like post…

The United States frequently dons the moniker “the melting pot” a name that is deep rooted in our history of immigration. As of late, there has been a resurgence in dialogue about the impact of immigration on our economy. This is a cyclical occurrence. This history and data has been visualized many times over. However, the most exciting approach to date can be found in the Kantar Information is Beautiful award winning “dendrographic” produced by Pedro Cruz, John Wihbey and their colleagues from Northeastern University.

Recently, I had the opportunity to discuss how the team used their metaphorical approach to…

According to magazine, 95% of Fortune 500 CEO’s played college sports. These former student athletes bring leadership skills, honed from the playing field, to the workplace. Their training has conditioned them to recognize the importance of teamwork and setting goals as well as dealing with conflict and adversity. The story below shows how four companies navigated disruption. Some navigated the challenges well while others are on a redemption path. As you scroll through, make sure to take note of Pasquale De Tursi’s words of wisdom.

“Football is also the school of life. It teaches you about hard work and being…

Spencer Baucke recently created an interactive dashboard that maps out the tragic voyages of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Atlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported were people from Central and West Africa, who had been sold by other West Africans to Western European slave traders. A small number of slaves were captured directly by slave traders during coastal raids.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with the co-founder and CEO of Flourish, Duncan Clark. Flourish is a self-service tool that allows non-coders to create high-end visualizations and stories. It was created when Clark and his co-founder CTO Robin Houston were working on multiple client projects at their award-winning visualization studio Kiln.

Duncan and Robin started working on visualization side projects for clients in 2012. Their first projects, such as the Carbon Map, generated a lot of interest, so they set up a visualization studio, Kiln. …